A swarm of African killer bees attacks an Air Force base in Texas, then the small town of Marysville and later Houston. A team of scientists, leaded by the arrogant Dr. Bradford Crane (Michael Caine), tries to find an antidote and an effective way of destroying the lethal swarm against the military command advice, that wants to restrain the area.

The most terrifying thing about THE SWARM is that it is based on Fact: It exists. Fact: It has awesome destructive power. Fact: We don't know how to stop it.

Movie Quote(s):

Helicopter Pilot #2: Oh, my God! Bees! Bees! Millions of Bees!

Brad Crane: Are you endowing these bees with human motives? Like saving their fellow bees from captivity, or seeking revenge on Mankind? General Thalius Slater: I always credit my enemy, no matter what he may be, with equal intelligence.

Dr. Andrews: Billions of dollars have been spent to make these nuclear plants safe. Fail-safe! The odds against anything going wrong are astronomical, Doctor! Dr. Hubbard: I appreciate that, Doctor. But let me ask you. In all your fail-safe techniques, is there a provision for an attack by killer bees?

Brad Crane: I have cardio-pep in my van. Capt. Helena Anderson: Cardio-pep? I've just read an article in the medical journal about Cardio-pep! By some scientist named... Crane, I think.

Brad Crane: We've been fighting a losing battle against the insects for fifteen years, but I never thought I'd see the final face-off in my lifetime. And I never dreamed, that it would turn out to be the bees. They've always been our friend.

Movie Trivia:

Managing the bees was a huge challenge on this film. The production went through several bee keepers before finding one who solved the problem by hiring people to clip the stingers off of the bees. This was accomplished in a refrigerated trailer, as bees are incapacitated by freezing temperatures. This operation, which went on all summer, made the bees safer for use around the cast and crew, although a few stingers were missed. But, as it turned out, some lingering venom got into the air on the sound stages and produced some allergic reactions. In addition, everyone had little yellow dots on their clothing - bee poop, probably.

The was the last film for Fred MacMurray.

Irwin Allen was so disheartened by the amount of money he lost on The Swarm (1978) that he forbade any of his employees to ever mention it again. He even cut short an interview when a question was asked about it.

Michael Caine stated in an interview that during filming he thought the little yellow spots left by the bees on his clothing was honey so he began to eat it, unaware he was eating bee poop.

When Felix is bringing flowers to Maureen, he passes by a movie theatre which is playing The Towering Inferno (1974), which was also produced by Irwin Allen.